39Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah,
40and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!
45Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”
46Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.
47My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
48for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
49For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.
56Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.
Isaiah 9.9-10.4
(6th Hour)
9And all the people of Ephraim, and they that lived in Samaria shall know, who say in their pride and lofty heart,
10The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and let us build for ourselves a tower.
11And God shall dash down them that rise up against him on mount Sion, and shall scatter his enemies;
12even Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting of the sun, who devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but still his hand is exalted.
13But the people turned not until they were struck, and they sought not the Lord.
14So the Lord took away from Israel the head and tail, great and small, in one day:
15the old man, and them that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful things, he is the tail.
16And they that pronounce this people blessed shall mislead them; and they mislead them that they may devour them.
17Therefore the Lord shall not take pleasure in their young men, neither shall he have pity on their orphans or on their widows: for they are all transgressors and wicked, and every mouth speaks unjustly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted.
18And iniquity shall burn as fire, and shall be devoured by fire as dry grass: and it shall burn in the thickets of the wood, and shall devour all that is round about the hills.
19The whole earth is set on fire because of the fierce anger of the Lord, and the people shall be as men burnt by fire: no man shall pity his brother.
20But one shall turn aside to the right hand, for he shall be hungry; and shall eat on the left, and a man shall by no means be satisfied with eating the flesh of his own arm.
21For Manasses shall eat the flesh of Ephraim, and Ephraim the flesh of Manasses; for they shall besiege Juda together. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted.
1Woe to them that write wickedness; for when they write they do write wickedness,
2perverting the cause of the poor, violently wresting the judgment of the needy ones of my people, that the widow may be a prey to them, and the orphan a spoil.
3And what will they do in the day of visitation? for affliction shall come to you from afar: and to whom will you⌃ flee for help? and where will you⌃ leave your glory,
4that you⌃ may not fall into captivity? For all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted.
Genesis 7.1-5 (Vespers)
1And the Lord God said to Noe, Enter you and all your family into the ark, for you have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
2And of the clean cattle take in to you sevens, male and female, and of the unclean cattle pairs male and female.
3And of clean flying creatures of the sky sevens, male and female, and of all unclean flying creatures pairs, male and female, to maintain seed on all the earth.
4For yet seven days having passed I bring rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out every offspring which I have made from the face of all the earth.
5And Noe did all things whatever the Lord God commanded him.
Proverbs 8.32-9.11 (Vespers)
32Now then, my son, hear me: blessed is the man who shall listen to me, and the mortal who shall keep my ways;
33Hear wisdom and be wise, and be not strangers to it.
34watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my entrances.
35For my outgoings are the outgoings of life, and in them is prepared favor from the Lord.
36But they that sin against me act wickedly against their own souls: and they that hate me love death.
1Wisdom has built a house for herself, and set up seven pillars.
2She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine in a bowl, and prepared her table.
3She has sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying,
4Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me: and to them that lack understanding she says,
5Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have mingled for you.
6Leave folly, that you⌃ may reign for ever; and seek wisdom, and improve understanding by knowledge.
7He that reproves evil men shall get dishonor to himself; and he that rebukes an ungodly man shall disgrace himself.
8Rebuke not evil men, lest they should hate you: rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
9Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more instruction.
10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of saints is understanding: for to know the law is the character of a sound mind.
11For in this way you shall live long, and years of your life shall be added to you.
Exodus 3.1-8
(Vespers, Annunciation)
1And Moses was feeding the flock of Jothor his father-in-law, the priest of Madiam; and he brought the sheep near to the wilderness, and came to the mount of Choreb.
2And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in flaming fire out of the bush, and he sees that the bush burns with fire, —but the bush was not consumed.
3And Moses said, I will go near and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.
4And when the Lord saw that he drew near to see, the Lord called him out of the bush, saying, Moses, Moses; and he said, What is it?
5And he said, Draw not near hither: loose your sandals from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground.
6And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraam, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and Moses turned away his face, for he was afraid to gaze at God.
7And the Lord said to Moses, I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry caused by their taskmasters; for I know their affliction.
8And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, and to bring them into a good and wide land, into a land flowing with milk and honey, into the place of the Chananites, and the Chettites, and Amorites, and Pherezites, and Gergesites, and Evites, and Jebusites.
Proverbs 8.22-30
(Vespers, Annunciation)
22The Lord made me the beginning of his ways for his works.
23He established me before time was in the beginning, before he made the earth:
24even before he made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth:
25before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, he begets me.
26The Lord made countries and uninhabited tracks, and the highest inhabited parts of the world.
27When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him; and when he prepared his throne upon the winds:
28and when he strengthened the clouds above; and when he secured the fountains of the earth:
29decree. and when he strengthened the foundations of the earth:
30I was by him, suiting myself to him, I was that wherein he took delight; and daily I rejoiced in his presence continually.
Hebrews 2.11-18
(Epistle, Annunciation)
11For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
12saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the congregation I will sing your praise.”
13Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.”
14Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16For most certainly, he doesn’t give help to angels, but he gives help to the offspring of Abraham.
17Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
18For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
Luke 1.24-38
(Gospel, Annunciation)
24After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying,
25“Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”
26Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
29But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.
30The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’
32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”
35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
36Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”
38Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Commemorations
The Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary
When Mary the Virgin was about fourteen years old, the Archangel Gabriel came to Joseph’s dwelling, where she was living, and said to her, ‘Rejoice, thou Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.’ Receiving assurance that she had been chosen to be the Mother of God Himself, she answered in humility, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’ Immediately, the Holy Spirit came upon her, the power of the Most High overshadowed her, and the Incarnation, long awaited by the whole creation, took place: He who contains the whole universe consented to be contained in the womb of one woman, the most holy Theotokos.
The Church teaches us that it was within the holy Virgin’s power to refuse the divine conception: her knowing and willing acceptance, the consummation of the faith of the whole righteous remnant of Israel, shows us that our very salvation is the fruit of the cooperation (synergia) of human faithfulness with God’s saving grace.
Carrying in her womb the Savior of the Universe, the Virgin went to the hills of Judea to stay with her kinswoman Elizabeth, who six months before had conceived in her old age (by Zacharias the priest) St John the Forerunner. As the holy Virgin approached, the child John leaped in his mother’s womb for joy, prophesying the coming of Emmanuel. Feeling the prophecy, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and blessed the holy Mary and the fruit of her womb. And Mary in turn glorified God, saying ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior’ (Luke ch. 1).
New Confessor/Hieromartyr Tikhon, patriarch of Moscow (1925)
Born in 1865, he was tonsured a monk in 1891, and consecrated a Bishop in 1891. From 1900, he was Bishop of Alaska, with oversight of the Church throughout North America. In America, he consecrated the first Orthodox monastery on the continent and worked tirelessly to unite all ethnic groups as one flock. In 1907 he was made Bishop of Yaroslavl and returned to Russia.
In 1917, he was elected to be the first Patriarch of Moscow since the abolition of the Patriarchate by Tsar Peter the Great more than 200 years before. Almost immediately, the Russian Church was plunged into new and terrible persecution as an atheist and totalitarian government seized control. Patriarch Tikhon always sought not to quarrel with the Communist government, but his refusal to deny his faith or his Church marked him in their eyes as an enemy. In 1925 he died under mysterious circumstances, and is generally thought to have been murdered by the Soviets. He is commemorated as a Confessor, and by many as a Martyr also.
Note: because his commemoration falls on the Feast of the Annunciation, his service is usually transferred to the day before or after the Feast.